My Vocation is Love

On October 1^st the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, also know as the Little Flower, or St. Therese of Lisieux. St. Therese is probably one of the most loved saints of all time. Her autobiography, Story of a Soul, is a favorite of many people who find her way of living out her faith in Jesus Christ attractive. St. Therese is someone we all can emulate in the practice of our faith in Jesus Christ.

Her given name was Therese Martin, and she was born in Alencon in France in 1873. She entered the Carmelite Monastery at an early age, and her life there in the Monastery was that of humility, evangelical simplicity and confidence and trust in God. Through her example, she was able to teach the Novices at the Monastery the ways that lead to true relationship and love of God.

In her autobiography she shares of her struggle about trying to understand God’s Will in her life. She read and meditated upon the scriptures and studied St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In her writings she indicates that St. Paul taught that not all are called to lofty callings, such as apostles, doctors, or prophets. St. Paul taught that all members of the Church of Christ are important, no matter how high or low you may be in the Church. But what makes all vocations important is doing that vocation out of love of God.

St. Therese writes, “I understood that love comprised all vocations, that love was everything, that it embraced all times and places … in a word it was eternal!” Then St. Therese goes on to say, “Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: ‘O Jesus, my Love … my vocation, at last I have found it … my vocation is Love!’”

We are called live out our vocations in the same way as St. Therese. In whatever situation or vocation we may find ourselves, whether that of a husband, wife, child, we are called to live out that vocation with love of God and those in our lives. This even includes loving those that we work with in the secular world, no matter how difficult that may be. We are called to live out our time in the world with Love of God, and love of those who surround us in our daily routines. That is our challenge and vocation. Our vocation, like that of St. Therese, is Love.